The Legend of One-Eyed Willy’s Secret Second Treasure ChampionFiona Z.

Jeff Cohen

JEFF B. COHEN, Esq. is a partner at Cohen Gardner LLP, a boutique, Beverly Hills based law firm with an emphasis on transactions involving technology, entertainment, media, licensing and intellectual property. Cohen regularly authors articles for media outlets like The Huffington Post, CNBC, Backstage, and Lawyerist. A former child actor, Cohen starred in the classic Steven Spielberg film The Goonies.

The Legend of One-Eyed Willy’s Secret Second Treasure

Chapter 1

written byJeff Cohen

Kyle couldn’t believe what he had found. It didn’t make any sense. Kyle was just messing around Kelly Field, like he always did when he was bored and wanted to put off doing his homework. Then, while scanning the cluster of trees next to the field, in the hope of finding a not-toogross, abandoned tennis ball to entertain himself with, Kyle noticed something sticking up near the base of one tree set way back, deep in the woods. Pushing aside the brush and turning his body while on tiptoes to get around a prickly bush, Kyle crept further to investigate. Kyle thought, as he got closer to the tree, how strange it was that he even noticed the object, almost hidden as it was, covered in the natural camouflage of the woods. As he peeled away the fallen twigs and dead vines, careful not to puncture himself with the spiky thorns, Kyle realized that what he had found was a half-buried crate.

“Whoa,” Kyle exclaimed out loud to no one but himself. The crate looked ancient to Kyle and was missing some planks. Sticking up through the dirt and leaves, Kyle at first thought it may have just been an old prop left over from one of the Pierce Middle School plays that a bunch of practical joking kids may have buried as a prank. But something about this felt different. The crate was dilapidated and really did look old. Plus, there were strange markings all over it that certainly did not appear to be the work of a bunch of middle school play set designers. Crouching down, Kyle peered cautiously into the crate through one of the broken planks, in case some strange, wild animal or a particularly vicious squirrel decided to make the crate its new home.

There wasn’t much left of the crate – if there had been much to begin with – but underneath a pile of dead leaves within it, Kyle spied a thick, yellowed square tucked into one of the bottom planks. He was just about to reach for the mysterious item when his phone buzzed, startling Kyle and causing him to fall backwards from the shock. Mom, his phone read, and he groaned inwardly. Even when she’s not even here, she somehow knows I’m up to something, Kyle thought suspiciously.

The text read: Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes Kyle. We’ll need to eat quickly to make your sister’s recital at Curry. Hurry home, but be careful please. Love Mom.

Kyle shoved his phone back into his pocket and reached down to snatch up the square. He started walking back towards his house as he unfolded what he could now tell was heavy, old paper. He stopped dead in his tracks. It was a map, and not just any map. Kyle held in his hand a treasure map.

Kyle hadn’t been able to fully enjoy his new finding last night. By the time his sister’s recital had ended, he still had homework to finish and then it was already time for bed. He told Teresa the whole story when they first got to school. It was second period now, but their teacher Ms. Spiel had been out for almost a week and they had a substitute, which meant Kyle could finally analyze the map.

“Oh yeah! You’re right, Teresa. He’s from ‘The Goonies’. He’s the one with that treasure everyone was trying to find. This is crazy though, how’d the map from a movie end up here in Milton?” Kyle exclaimed incredulously.

“Hey! What are you guys looking at?” Melissa asked, peering over Kyle’s shoulder.

Kyle covered the map instinctively and shared a glance with Teresa. Their eyes both seemed to ask if they wanted to let Melissa in on the secret treasure map. Melissa was Kyle’s neighbor and she sat next to Teresa in nearly every class, being that she was an O and Teresa a P. It might be useful to bring Melissa in the loop, Kyle thought. Teresa smiled and gave a subtle nod, she had been thinking the same.

Meanwhile, Melissa had been waiting wide-eyed and patiently, which wasn’t like her. Usually, she’d talk at you until you told her what was up or she’d give up, deciding whatever it was wasn’t worth knowing. Kyle and Teresa were never the secretive type, so she knew whatever they were hiding had to be good and she wanted in. It would only be a matter of time anyway before she found out, as Melissa fancied herself like a detective and could snoop out anything.

“Well...,” Teresa started, “this is pretty huge, and we don’t want the whole class finding out because that’s just too many people to split it with –”

“What are you three shouting about?” barked Mr. Fratel, the mean, old substitute teacher. He was like literally ancient, probably as old as One-Eyed Willy’s treasure map, Kyle thought to himself. Mr. Fratel had been a substitute for all their siblings, their parents, and probably even their grandparents. He also hated fun or any kind of enjoyment, and liked to make the students miserable.

“Sorry, Mr. Fratel,” they all groaned in unison. Kyle tried to lean as casually as possible over his desk to cover the treasure map, but Mr. Fratel was already on to him.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Mr. Fratel reached over Kyle and snatched up the map.

Kyle tried to protest but suddenly noticed a strange expression passed over Mr. Fratel. As Mr. Fratel stared at the map, his eyes widened and Kyle heard him faintly whisper, “So it is real.”

He turned back towards the children then sneered darkly, “I’ll be taking this,” before marching away. Kyle wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he knew he definitely needed that map back.

Chapter 2

written byNathan E.

The next day, Kyle was thinking about a plan to get the map back. Suddenly, Kyle thought of an idea, but it was really risky. His idea was to break into Mr. Fratel’s office at night and get that map back. He knew that Mr. Fratel would probably be their substitute teacher for at least a couple more days, because Kyle’s real teacher had been out for almost a week (with the flu and a fever at the same time!). Kyle didn’t want to tell his friends about the plan to break into Mr. Fratel’s office, because if they got caught then his friends would get into trouble because of something that he did. He didn’t want to get his friends into a big mess.

“DING!” the sound of the school bell was almost deafening to Kyle. On his way to Mr. Fratel’s class, Teresa saw the look on Kyle’s face.

“You look worried,” said Teresa.

“I do? Well I’m not worried about anything,” Kyle answered.

Teresa knew that look on Kyle’s face.She knew that Kyle was up to something...

“Okay class, today we will be learning about states and capitals. Would anyone like to tell me the capital of Texas?” said Mr. Fratel.

Kyle was just staring at his desk, thinking and thinking about breaking into Mr. Fratel’s office.

All of a sudden Kyle had a mad look on his face. After class Kyle stayed in, just like Mr. Fratel demanded.

“Why weren’t you paying attention in class today? You are usually a talented kid when it comes to states and capitals.”

“Sorry Mr. Fratel, I was just having an off day. I promise it won’t happen again.”

“It’d better not!” Mr. Fratel said.

On Kyle’s way home Teresa asked, “Hey, do you wanna come over for dinner tonight?”

“No, sorry, not tonight. I have some plans.”

“Like what? Don’t think I don’t know you’re up to something....You’re going to get the map back... How are you gonna do it?”

“How did you know?” Kyle asked surprised.

“Well, that map did look special to you.”

“Alright fine...here’s the plan, IF you’re in on it with me. After school when all the teachers are gone and only the janitors are there, we can tell them that we are doing a school project, and go into Mr. Fratel’s office and take the map. I saw that he put the map on his desk. But it is risky, are you sure you want to do this with me?”

“Yes,” said Teresa confidently.

“What are you guys talking about?!” shouted Melissa.

* * *

After they told Melissa everything, they were ready to do something they all had never done before, and something they might regret!

Chapter 3

written byFiona Z.

“Hey Teresa, what time is our basketball game tonight?” asked Melissa.

“Melissa, you’re a genius! Everyone is going to be watching the championship game!” said Teresa.

“I’ll run to get the map at half- time!” said Kyle. “Mr. Fratel will be leading the teacher dunking contest as usual, right? All the teachers have to participate, so the coast will be clear. Even the janitors will be watching this beat down.”

“Awesome! So... how about we meet right after the game?” suggested Teresa.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll try and be back before halftime ends.” said Kyle.

“Oh, and by the way Melissa, our game starts at 8pm and the coach wants us there at 7:30pm so we can stretch and warm up before the start. We are playing Duxbury. The Milton Wildcats are going to slay those Duxbury Dragons for the fifth year in a row!” said Teresa getting fired up.

At halftime, half of Milton could hear the deafening cheers from the gym. The Milton Wildcats were defeating the Duxbury Dragons. The half-time score was 53-22. As Mr. Fratel led the teachers on to the court for the half-time dunking contest, Kyle snuck out of the loud gym and raced to Mr. Fratel’s office on the third floor of the building. There, in the middle of the desk, was the map, neatly folded. Kyle grabbed it and placed it in the pocket of his sweatshirt and raced back to the gym before anyone could notice that he was gone.

* * *

“I can’t believe we won!” said Melissa jumping up and down.

“Yep, 65-37” said Teresa excitedly.

“It’s getting late, let’s meet up at The Plate tomorrow at 10 am so we can try and find the treasure” said Kyle.

The next morning, Kyle, Melissa and Teresa met up at The Plate. Kyle had the map with him and even though Melissa and Teresa were kind of tired from staying up and partying all night with their teammates, they were anxious to begin their hunt for the treasure.

“I was examining the map last night and I noticed this little shed. What do you think it is? It looks like it’s right across from Town Hall.” said Kyle.

“Oh, I know what it is! It’s the Powder House. They used to store ammunition there during the Civil War.” said Teresa.

“Let’s head to the Powder House after our breakfast.” said Melissa.

Just then Kyle felt a cold hand on his shoulder. He froze.

“What’s that there in your hand, Boy?” asked a familiar voice in a blood-chilling tone. All three kids screamed and charged out the door as fast as their legs could carry them and they didn’t stop until they got to Turner’s Pond.

* * *

“Phew, that was close” gasped Teresa.

“I never knew substitute teachers could be sooooo creepy.” said Kyle, “there’s no way we can let him get his hands back on this map!”

After a few minutes of catching their breath and making sure the coast was clear, the kids decided to make their way to the Powder House to check it out when suddenly Melissa came to a realization.

“He could be driving around looking for us. He knows that we have the map.” said Melissa.

“My parents said I could use an Uber for emergencies.” realized Kyle. “I call this an emergency!” he said.

Kyle called an Uber and Melissa, Teresa and Kyle hid in the bushes waiting for the Uber.

When a rusty car pulled up in the car park with an Uber sticker on it, Kyle, Teresa and Melissa didn’t hesitate to jump out of the bushes into the car. Melissa slammed the car door shut.

“Can you please drop us off at the library parking lot?” said Kyle

“Going somewhere?” asked the Uber driver in a familiar voice. “You know, out of you three kids, I would never suspect that you would want to be going to the library on a Saturday. What gives?”

“Mr. Fratel’s our Uber driver” screamed Kyle.

“That’s right” said Mr. Fratel nodding his head.

The three kids quickly came up with a plan to jump out of the car at the next red light and run in separate directions and meet up at the library as soon as possible. The car slowly came to a stop at the red light on the corner of Brook and Reedsdale.

“One, two... THREE!!” said Melissa and she and her friends jumped out of the car.

They all ran their separate ways and finally met on the second floor of the library.

“I say we start walking towards the Powder House soon so Mr. Fratel won’t be sure where we are.” said Melissa.

“Oh no, look there’s his car - he’s driving towards school. He’s probably going to see if we actually stole the map.” said Teresa, looking out the window. “We can’t waste a minute.”

All three of them sprinted towards the Powder House.

“Look - the map changed, it says to face towards the door, clap, step forward, step backward, and jump! Let’s do it on three. One.. two..three.”

Kyle, Melissa and Teresa clapped, stepped forward, stepped backward and jumped. The door swung open releasing beams of light. A strong gust of wind blew Melissa, Teresa and Kyle into the Powder House.

* * *

Suddenly, they were in a whole new world. The song “A Whole New World” from Aladdin that the Pierce Players performed was ringing in Kyle’s ears

Chapter 4

written byElinor J.

The three kids looked up at the sky, mesmerized.

“Whoa,” Melissa said breathlessly, “It just looks so different!”

They looked up to see some sort of convertible/Lamborghini hybrid car driving on a street that was above their heads! The roads were shaped like roller-coasters that twisted and turned around. They soon realized they were in the road as a car soared about a foot to the right of them. Teresa let out a small shriek and ducked. They ran to the side of the road and leaned on the metal rail that is on the sides of a highway.

“Look!” Melissa exclaimed, “It is so weird! I cannot believe it!”

“What?!” Kyle and Teresa cried, worried.

Melissa gasped and pointed to a store dramatically, “A Sports Authority! They’re back in business!”

“GUYS!” Kyle yelled over the roaring cars, “Don’t forget, we are in THE MIDDLE OF A HIGHWAY! We need to get to Pierce, like now. We need to find a way to go back, and I think Pierce is the place to do that!”

They tried to get a ride, and eventually a cab pulled over.

“Kids, what are you doing!” The booming voice bellowed, “Why are you hanging around the highway?”

The voice sounded so familiar. Kyle peered closely at the 40-year-old-looking-man and exclaimed,

He stopped suddenly, “What are you doing here? How are you still kids?”

“It’s a real long story,” sighed Kyle, “Could you drive us to Pierce? Are we in Milton?”

“Yeah, I never left home,” Carl said, “But, I can’t take you to Pierce. It’s closed, forever. I thought everyone knew. Boy, I never thought I’d see you guys again. Everyone was terrified.....”

“Wait,” said Teresa, putting her hands up, “Terrified of what?”

Carl was very confused, “You don’t remember? You went missing the day of that basketball game. A bunch of people saw you get into an Uber, and no one saw you after that. You know that kid, Ronnie with the photographic memory? He memorized the license plate of the car since he was at Coffee Break. The cops traced the car and traced it back to Mr. Fratel, but by then he had skipped town. Wow, I can’t believe I remember all that.”

It took the three kids a minute for all the news to sink in...

Chapter 5

written byFiona Z.

After a while of an awkward silence (and melancholy and confusion) looking faces, Teresa noticed an Uber sticker on Carl's car. Carl followed Teresa's glance and noticed that she was looking at the Uber sticker.

“I can give y'all a free ride if you want? Anywhere in the 45 mile radius,” said Carl.

The three kids jumped in the car, not sure of their destination yet.

“Wow, you guys are brainless….ha ha ha….I did it again,” said “Carl” shaking his head.

“Uh... Carl what do you mean?” asked Melissa.

Carl quickly turned around and ripped off a mask. It was Mr. Fratel. He laughed his evil laugh. The door locks snapped and they were trapped!

“I can't believe you tricked us again!” cried Kyle.

“Mr. Fratel, do you mind putting that mask back on, you are scarier without it” said Melissa with a smirk on her face.

“What a burn!” exclaimed Kyle.

“How did you get here before us?” asked Teresa.

“I was actually following you this whole time,” said Mr. Fratel. “I saw you do that weird dance and disappear in front of the Powder House, so I figured that would lead you to the treasure. I was right behind you this whole time. Give me the map or else I’ll change your future.”

“Melissa, you are going to be the best basketball player in the whole NBA and the WNBA. Kyle, you'll be the best baseball player in the league and Teresa, you'll be the first female president. Just check Google if you don't believe me.” said Mr. Fratel. “But of course, I can change all that.”

“I can't let my future go.” said Melissa. “It’s too important.”

***

“One... two... three.. Go!” said Melissa at the next red light.

Kyle jumped on Mr. Fratel, grabbed the keys, and unlocked the doors. Although it was dangerous, the kids ran as quickly as they could to the side of the highway. Then, they ran in the opposite direction of Mr. Fratel's car.

The three kids hailed a cab and jumped in; Kyle looked carefully at the driver making sure it wasn't Mr. Fratel again (it wasn't). In the absence of any better ideas, Melissa asked the driver to drive them to her house. Melissa was hoping that one of her family members still lived there.

When they got out of the cab, Melissa noticed a big sign on her front lawn. It read: Take a tour of Melissa O' Leary's (famous basketball player) childhood house today!

“So it's true - I do get to conquer the NBA and WNBA”,s he said. “How awesome!”

They decided to take a tour of Melissa's house although Melissa knew her house like the back of her hand.

“Wow, guys look! There's a picture of us with the treasure! So, we ended up finding it after all!” exclaimed Kyle.

“Look! We're standing on the bridge near the Baker Chocolate Factory!” said Teresa.

“The treasure has got to be in that area then” exclaimed Melissa.

“Let's go down there and see if we can find any clues.” said Kyle.

They made their way down to the Neponset River. Fortunately, when they got there, it was River Clean Up Day. Hundreds of people were walking alongside the river picking up trash. It was good because they could blend in with the crowd. From the corner of her eye, Melissa spotted someone suspiciously eyeing them. The mysterious person then started walking towards them.

The three kids continued following the crowd, picking up trash until Teresa noticed a dark cave right under the bridge.

“Hey, what is that?” asked Teresa pointing at the cave.

“I don't know, but let's find out” said Melissa eagerly. They climbed down towards the cave.

“Hey, you kids need to be careful. The river current is really strong down there” someone called out.

“Oh we'll be careful - there's some trash down there that we want to collect!” said Kyle.

“That was a close one!” said Melissa as they ducked into the cave.

When the kids walked to the end of the cave, they noticed a medieval looking door.

“The map has changed... again!” said Kyle.

“It says to clap, step forward, step backward, and jump. The same thing we did at the Powder House.” The kids did just that. The doors creaked open.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Teresa.

The room was filled with gold coins, emeralds, rubies, pearl necklaces, diamonds and much, much more! They started filling their pockets and backpacks with the treasure and did not notice the door slowly creaking open. Kyle felt a cold hand on his shoulder.

“Thanks for leading me to the treasure, Boy.” said a familiar yet terrifying voice.

They charged towards Mr. Fratel, knocked him over and pushed him into the river and he was swept away.

“You're not going to mess with our futures.” yelled Melissa.

When they could carry no more, they hurried back to the Powder House and repeated the familiar magic routine to enter.

“What a fantastic journey, it was really fun,” said Kyle when he stepped out of the Powder House back into 2017.“I can't wait for our futures to come true.”

The End

AFTERWORD

Melissa did become the best WNBA basketball player ever and Kyle, the next David Ortiz. Teresa ended up becoming the first female president as well, but most importantly, they all remained friends.

Mr. Fratel, on the other hand was last seen in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. A school of sharks swimming towards him.